Grace's Feathers
by Aegbis
Summary: College AU with Human!Cas. Cas' friend sets him up to go out and meet Dean and they become friends. Cas woke up in a hospital 10 months ago and knows nothing of his past, but now there are bits and pieces cropping up everywhere, like the feathers in his car and a man named Gabriel. Rated M for language and just to be safe. Title may change.
1. Chapter 1

The street was desolate when Cas walked home. A few stray cats were peering curiously into the tipped over rubbish bins that were spilling out litter onto the pavement. Cas pulled his trench coat in tighter as a cold and bitter wind bit through his thin work shirt. He worked at the local fresh produce market almost three blocks away, he got the place there after he had seen it advertised on one of the college notice boards and after Alex had persistently suggested it numerous times. Cas kicked an empty soda can onto the sewer grate while fumbling for his keys in his coat pocket. He was so distracted he almost trod on Alex who happened to be sitting on the steps to the apartment with two books, a coffee and a bagel. She was already three-quarters of the way through one of the books though hadn't yet started on the one next to her bagel. It looked brand new, the paper-back cover was still flat and smooth, unlike her other books, and the spine was without creases. Alex had been going through books at a rate of knots recently, she had finished all her exams for the time being and had nothing much else to do so all her time was now spent reading or visiting Cas. She had her scarf tucked up neatly around the collar of her thick grey jacket and her hair had been pinned back to keep it out of her face while she read, although it didn't stop a few loose strands from falling down across her face. She looked up, a wide grin spread across her face when she saw Cas standing there.

"Hello, Cassie." She beamed heaving herself off of the ground, Cas offered a hand but she just batted it away. "I see you're still wearing that damned trench coat." Cas looked down at his coat; there was nothing wrong with it at all. It was warm and comfortable and he had had it as long as he could remember, which wasn't really very long at all.

"I don't...it's nice..." he protested unconvincingly.

"Let's go inside," Alex suggested nudging Cas forward "it's cold out here and I've been waiting on these freezing steps for too long." Cas fumbled with the keys finding it difficult to get the right one with his numb fingers. He jammed one of them into the lock and the door swung open. Mrs Hubert who lived on one of the lower floors was standing in the hallway with her usual sour look which seemed to sour even more at the sight of Cas and Alex.

"Shut the bloody door!" She hissed in her croaky voice then shuffled off with her slippers clapping on the wooden floorboards as she went.

"I love that lady." Alex muttered and slammed the door. They began their ascent up the few flights of stairs to Cas' apartment. Inside it was still pretty tidy, Cas was just thankful that Alex hadn't decided to arrive on Wednesday because he had to have a massive clean out Thursday just to see the floor in the small living room. Alex made a bee line for the fridge before Cas could even set his coat down the muffled clank of jars sounded through from the kitchen along with a few comments from Alex that wafted through as she examined the contents. Cas hung up his coat and put his keys on the bench by the door. He wandered into the living room, it still had a bit of clutter, but it was mainly just text books for class. There was a loud clatter in the kitchen accompanied by a very prominent sound of disgust. Alex marched into the lounge holding a transparent container with a thick green liquid in it.

"What is this?!" She demanded shaking it about making its insides slosh around violently.

"It's a smoothie."

"It's disgusting."

"It's healthy." She rolled her eyes and marched back to the kitchen. Cas followed her to make sure she inflicted no harm upon his precious vegetables. A whole range of foods Alex had rejected were scattered over the bench in disarray. Cas began sorting through it while Alex continued rummaging.

"It's a good job I set up the blind date at a restaurant and not here. He would have nothing to eat!" She muttered. Cas stared at her quizzically unsure whether he had heard her right or not.

"You're going on a date? Why would it be here?" He shut the fridge door in an attempt to stop Alex rummaging through his stuff. He had meant to do it smoothly but he hadn't realised she had opened the vegetable drawers as well and they clattered noisily as the fridge door bounced off of them. His cheeks flushed with colour, he sighed and shut the drawers clumsily so that it was now possible to close the door properly.

"It's not my date, it's your date, and I wouldn't ever have a date here." Cas glared at her. He didn't like it when Alex set him up on dates he either ended up embarrassed or in custody. On his first date he was only five minutes into dinner when he managed to offend the girl who, in turn, tipped her glass of wine on his head and stormed off in anger. Second date was with an extreme extrovert who was utterly obsessed with doing crazy, outgoing things and between the both of them they managed to burn down half a restaurant and kill the neighbour's cat, accidently of course. Third date, well, three police charges, two insurance claims and a very angry truck driver showed how well that one went. There had been 12 other dates on top of that before Alex finally gave up hope of ever finding him love. Cas was rather surprised; he was hoping that she had given up for the good of the world. "Hey, don't look at me like that, Cassie. This one is different I promise." She had her hands thrown up in front of her with her palms facing Cas in surrender. "I can't tell you much, because it's a blind date, but he goes to our school and..."

"Wait, 'he'?" Cas raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I thought maybe the reason it wasn't working out with all those women was because..."

"Alex, I'm not gay."

"Neither is he."

"Then why is this a date?"

"Because that was the way I asked."

"You can't just ask someone to go on a date with me who isn't attracted to my gender."

"Sure I can."

"No you can't."

"But I already have."

"Did you pay him?"

"No." "Did you threaten him?"

"No!" Cas pursed his lips not really sure if he believed that. "I didn't bribe, threat, or trick him. I just asked." He looked at her sceptically, mulling it over.

"Fine." He said at last. "I don't have to do anything, do I?"

"Nothing you're not comfortable with." She confirmed.

"And if this all goes wrong..."

"I'll buy all your groceries for a week." Cas already got a discount on his groceries but he nodded anyway. He turned to the coffee maker and took a small spoon out of the drawer; he needed something to calm his nerves and something to distract him. He flicked the switch and the machine sprang to life with the whir of the water boiling. "Uh, Cas, one more thing..." Alex said hesitantly. "Your date's at seven-thirty and it takes at least twenty or so minutes to get there." Cas grimaced not wanting to look at the clock. He already knew that Alex would have left it to the last possible minute and there would be next to no time to get ready. He tore his eyes of his brewing coffee to look at the clock on the microwave. It was almost seven, Cas groaned. The spoon clattered onto the bench and he trudged away to have his shower leaving Alex with a quick sulky glare. Cas rushed out of his room his hair still damp and the collar of his one good shirt all twisted and wonky. Alex was perched on the end of the sofa with a small tub of ice-cream in her hand. She got up and fixed his collar smoothing down all the creases.

"Remember, don't be shy, at least try to interact with him and take that grumpy look off your face."

"I'm not shy. You don't need to tell me that. And I'm not grumpy I just have less than twenty minutes to get to this place because you didn't tell me that I was going on a date until seven."

"Not my fault, I was expecting you back at five."

"It's Friday!"

"So?"

"I work later on Friday's."

"Oh, well, you learn something new every day." She took out a crumpled napkin with some roughly scrawled words on it in blue pen. "This is the restaurant." She tucked it into Cas' pocket. "I will be waiting here for you to get back. I'll probably just watch T.V. or something."

"Okay. Thanks." Cas managed a small smile; she was after all trying to be nice. "Bye." Cas waved as he grabbed his keys of the bench and took down his coat.

"Not the trench coat! Leave it here!"

"Make me." Cas shrugged the coat on defiantly and jumped out the door. He raced down the hallway taking the steps two at a time. It was quarter-past-seven and he had to be there by half-past, he huffed at Alex. It was her sole desire to set him up when she herself hasn't been on a date almost the entire time Cas had known her. One guy named Kevin. That was it. Cas yanked open the door. Mrs Hubert materialized in the hallway.

"Shut the..."

"'Shut the bloody door!' I know!" Cas yelled. So he did he shut the door. Slammed it actually, and stalked over to his 60's Volkswagen beetle. Some of the leather was torn and there was a dent in the side that needed to be fixed, but he really liked the car and it calmed him down almost immediately. He put the key in the ignition, hoping for a quick start up but was instead greeted with the usual little splutters. "Come on, sweetie." Cas mumbled twisting the key again, more sputters, he twisted harder. The engine juddered and caught. He swerved out into the street and took the napkin out of his pocket. 'Ruby's Diner. Second exit on the right, off the highway.' The place sounded more casual than Cas had expected, which pleased him.  
After driving past the exit five or so times, he finally turned off down a dusty, empty road he killed the engine to his poor beetle outside the diner. A typical American diner with a broken red and blue neon sign hung over the entry. His heart was racing a hundred miles a minute. He had already thought of all the things he could say to explain the situation as well as every response Dean could give to each. Cas tried to kill his nerves by reminding himself that Dean would understand and it wasn't a date and they could be friends or not friends, but it didn't matter, they didn't have to be friends. He slid himself out of the car and swung the door shut. The neon sign cast out an eerie blue glow into the parking lot. Cas could see several people inside, only a few men were by themselves. A man, with a round belly and plaid shirt who looked like he could be a lumberjack or builder, sat on the far side, there, on his left two seats away was a very spindly man who was sat staring into nothingness stirring his coffee with his finger, whilst a well muscled man was flirting with the waitress behind the counter who was obviously displeased with the attention. A guy in a leather jacket and a few too many layers, even though it was Autumn, sat at a booth with a burger bigger than his mouth, despite this fact he still managed to cram the monstrosity in his mouth. The last man sat in the corner wearing a suit; he looked very stern and only had coffee and a small sandwich. Cas cleared his throat when he realised he was still standing outside and probably had been for about a minute. He made his way up slowly and gently pushed open the door. The diner bell tinged as Cas walked in, the sound made him want to cringe. The guy with a burger stared at him as he shuffled over to the counter. Cas caught the waitress's attention; much to her relief she now had an excuse to stop talking to the muscled man. Cas cleared his throat again.

"Is there a Dean...uh..." Cas realised Alex had never told him Dean's last name "...here?" he finished.

"Um..." She pursed her lips and skipped through some papers by the till. She looked back up at Cas blinking her precision winged eyeliner eyes. "I don't think..." A large hand clapped down on Cas' shoulder.

"I'm Dean." Someone announced from behind him. Cas turned around to see the man who had been at the booth was now standing right behind him. He patted Cas shoulder. The contact felt a little strange and awkward.

"Hello, Dean." Cas said. "I'm Castiel." Dean smiled and gestured toward the booth. Cas took the seat opposite the half eaten burger. Dean slid into his own seat and started munching again. He had green eyes, brilliantly green eyes, and a wide grin that bared all his teeth. His eyes crinkled when he smiled. A line of faint freckles dashed across the bridge of his nose and forehead. "Sorry I ordered without you, honestly I thought you would be a no show." Cas smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, my apologies, Alex just sort of..."

"Alex...she's the one who organised this, right?"

"Yes. She only told me about half an hour ago."

"Half an hour ago?" Dean looked mildly puzzled as if someone just put a dead fish in front of him with no explanation. "Well then, your buddy's a bit of a liar. She told me that you hadn't been on a date in awhile and then asked me if I would be willing to take you out just for one night because I owed her for that time she did that science thing for the both of us." Cas scowled. It was so very typical of Alex to lie to both parties just to get her own way.

"I knew it. Of course she lied, sorry, she just likes to set me up."

"It's fine, seeing as we're here we might as well eat." He glanced at his plate and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards. "You might as well eat." He corrected. Dean ordered him a vegetarian burger; he didn't seem too pleased with him being a vegetarian but shrugged it off anyway. He also got Cas some coffee and ordered a pie for himself. Dean mostly talked about his brother Sam who got a place at Stanford this year, and had a girlfriend named Jessica. He avoided the subject of his mum and dad, Cas wasn't sure why, but he spoke about a man named Bobby as though he were his father instead. Cas couldn't really say much about himself so he told Dean about Alex and how he was doing in college at the moment. By the time they had finished their food and drinks the diner was almost empty. The spindly guy was still sitting with his coffee and a lady had just ordered a pie to go. Cas stared at the bar stools lost in a daydream.

"Do you wanna go get some beers?" Dean asked, breaking him from his reverie. Dean was tracing his finger around the rim of the salt shaker distractedly.

"Yeah...okay." Cas didn't really want to go home only to find Alex slumped on his sofa watching a movie she's already seen a hundred times over. Dean grinned and headed towards the door, nudging Castiel on the way, leaving his money on the table. Cas followed and put a few dollar bills down as a tip because he felt bad letting Dean pay. Cas flurried outside in an attempt to catch up, the air was even brisker than before. Dean had already crossed the lot over to a sleek black '67 impala which Dean caressed lovingly.

"This is my baby." Dean said that smile of his creeping back onto his lips. Cas nodded in appreciation. "Come on, Cas." He said swinging the passenger door wide open. Cas strode over and hopped in. The car smelt of hamburgers and men's cologne. Dean slid comfortably in next to him. Cas watched when he thrust the keys into the ignition and the engine sparked to life with a roar instantly. Cas felt a pang of jealousy over his beetle that struggled to start on a good day. Dean reversed out and span around onto the highway entrance. The lights played across Dean's face in a series of oranges and yellows. Castiel stared out of the window into the darkness hoping that afterwards Dean would remember that Cas had a car too and would drive him back to the diner later so that he would be able to get to school. Dean fidgeted. His hand hovered over the stereo gingerly. "You don't mind if I play some music do you?" Cas shook his head. Dean clicked play and All Out Of Love by Air Supply came on. He blushed and ejected the cassette tape exchanging it for an AC/DC tape instead. The leather laden dork tapped his fingers in time to the beat on the steering wheel.

"Ever been to the mountain over there before?" He pointed vaguely to a large shape in the distance, Cas could only just make it out in the darkness beyond the glaring lights.

"No. Isn't it off limits?" He asked scanning the edges of its looming figure. Dean chuckled.

"Of course not." He grinned at Cas in a way that most definitely implied that, yes, it was off limits, but he didn't really care and they were headed there anyway. Dean pulled into an all night liquor store after five impressively well lip-synched songs. "Wait here, I'll be back in a moment." Cas nodded. He watched as Dean disappeared into the store. He patted his legs and hummed to himself glancing around the Impala. Dean seemed to keep his car very tidy, there was no rubbish or unneseccary items. Cas could see a little plastic green army man jammed into the ash tray of the door. He smiled to himself, filled with thoughts of childhood and how his might have been. A short cry interrupted his thoughts. Cas peered through the wind shield. A dark masculine figure was trying to tear the t-shirt off of a young, clearly intoxicated, young girl. The girl was twisting her body away from him trying to hold down her top and bat away his groping hands. Her disorientated hits weren't taking much affect on the thick man. Cas put a hand on the door handle. The girl was violently shaking her head as the man clasped her wrists and growled something into her ear. Cas scowled. He flung open the door. The girl saw him making his way over and cowered, she looked terrified. Cas tapped the man on the shoulder, which seemed kind of ridiculous at the time. "What do you think you are doing?" He demanded trying sound authoritative.

"Piss off! This doesn't concern you, kid." He grunted. He wasn't dauntingly big but he had a certain gruffness about him that wasn't very pleasant. Cas diverted his attention to the girl.

"Are you al-"

"She's mine! Go find your own bitch to shag!" The man thrust his face toward Cas, so that it was only inches away. Cas' scowl deepened. Before he could think about what he was doing he had already pulled back his right arm and swung. The blow landed the other guy right between the eyes. He staggered back in shock with his meaty fingers pushed against his forehead. Cas shook out his hand, punching the man in the head wasn't very exactly like hitting a feather pillow.

"Right, buddy, you're gonna get it." He swung a punch that Cas easily managed to duck under sneak a blow to his stomach with his left hand. Unfortunately Cas didn't move away fast enough so the guy grabbed the back of Cas' coat. He dragged him back and delivered a good punch to his face. Cas head swung back and the guy threw another punch that hit Cas in the eye, he released his coat and had a strike at his stomach. Cas crumpled and spluttered up some blood onto the concrete. The guy pulled back for another attack when something grabbed him from behind. Dean had the man gripped tight so he couldn't move. Dean was surprisingly strong and the man struggled in his hold. Cas glanced around for something to help. He spotted a rusted metal tube lying on the ground a few feet away; he crawled over, grasped it, and staggered to his feet. He limped over to wear the pair were squirming and brought it down on the man's head. The impact rang out in a loud thud and the man collapsed with a noise equally loud.

"Good job." Dean muttered trying to catch his breath. "But if you start fights with strangers every time I'm gone, we might have a problem."

"He was going to rape that girl." Cas panted, clutching his stomach.

"What girl?" Dean asked. Cas glanced the area. The girl had disappeared, vanished, probably ran away from the fight awhile ago. "She was here a moment ago, she might have left."

"Okay, well let's get you some ice for your eye, man. It's starting to bruise."


	2. Chapter 2

Dean ended up with a bucket of ice from the boy behind the counter, which he later decided to put the beers in, and the potential rapist got to lie in the store until the cops arrived. Now Cas was staring out across the city on the hood of Dean's car. Dean was sat beside him with a beer in his hand, he looked completely at ease. The outer suburbs faded away into the night but the city glowed like nothing Cas had ever seen before. Even with that mass of energy pulsing from the ground it didn't block out the stars above the hill. Constellation upon constellation spread out across the sky in little shiny orbs. Cas wanted to lie back like Dean and look up into the night but he was too worried he might break something so he stayed near the front of the bonnet with his legs resting on the bumper.

"I gotta say, Cas, when I told Alex I would be your date..."

"It's not a date." Cas corrected firmly. Dean rolled his eyes and continued talking.

"I certainly wasn't expecting a brawl outside a liquor store. I was expecting someone who..well, not a looker and a total loser. She really played you out as that desperate and lonely type." Cas sighed and smiled. "Though I also didn't think college students wore trench coats." He laughed to himself and Cas laughed with him.

"Well, if you thought this 'date' was bad you should have seen my other fourteen." Cas joked.

"You haven't really told me much about your life." Dean prodded. "There isn't much to say."

"C'mon, I'm sure there's something."

"No, really. I woke up in a hospital about 10 months ago and I couldn't remember anything except for the fact that my name was Castiel, and I managed to remember how to read and write, according to the nurses most people do. I got signed up for college and found a place to live from the small fund they gave me and managed to continue paying for my place with the job I have at a fresh produce store. Then I met Alex and from that moment on she insisted on finding my soul mate for me." Cas shrugged. "That's about it." Dean pulled a face. He pursed his lips.

"Not bad, fourteen dates in less than ten months." Cas chuckled and shook his head. "So you really can't remember anything except for your name?"

"And how to read and write. Other than that it's a totally blank." Dean tipped his head slightly and took a sip of his beer.

"What about your parents? You don't seem to like talking about them, did something bad happen?" Dean looked down at the bottle in his hands. "Sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's cool... My mum died in a fire when I was young. Sammy was only a baby... My dad, well, ever since then he's not exactly been father of the year. We used to have to move a lot, you see, because dad got a job as a mechanic and he dragged us with him across the country and dumped us in motels while he would go work. I had to look after Sammy while he worked and when he was back he was too drunk and useless to do anything. So, I basically raised Sammy myself. He left not so long ago, actually, off to Stanford. I'm left with dad who then just drops off the face of the earth..." Dean wiped a few drops of gathering condensation off of his bottle before taking another swig. "Wasn't that a lovely bonding session?" He grinned. Cas managed a weak smile back. "Now, what kind of music do you like?" They sat and talked about music for ages, Cas hadn't really had enough time to re-discover music so he mostly let Dean talk. He had a list of favourites about a mile long but his ultimate favourite was a tie between Ramble On and Travelling Riverside Blues by Led Zepplin. Most of the stuff he listened to was Rock and Metal and Cas didn't feel so sure on some of the titles. Once Dean finally ran out of music he moved onto movies, action and horror seemed to occur frequently. T.V. shows were also a topic, Cas got the feeling there were more shows Dean liked but didn't want to mention because he found them embarrassing. Cas had finished his beer a long time ago but he stayed listening to Dean go on about how terrible the FX were in the last movie he saw which happened to be a horror unsurprisingly. Cas listened to all the blood and guts and villains late into the night with fascination, he took note of some titles so that he could watch them when he returned home.

When Cas woke the sun was almost in the middle of the sky hidden behind a mass of cloud. He startled when he saw he was still on the hood of the car parked on a mountain. He prodded Dean in the chest lightly.

"Dean." He whispered. He prodded him again a little harder. "Dean." He said louder. Dean shuffled. Cas sighed. "Dean I-Don't-Even-Know-Your-Last-Name-Yet, wake up!" Dean twisted in surprise and tumbled off to the side landing on the ground with a heavy thump.

"Good morning to you too, Cas." He grumbled as he pulled himself up. Cas watched his face as he then processed where he was. "Wait, Cas? What are you doing here?"

"We must have fallen asleep last night." Cas explained, looking out across the city, he could hear the cars even from where he stood.

"What time is it?" Dean groaned with a stretch.

"I don't know." Cas pulled his phone out of his pocket 8 missed calls flashed up on the screen. He grimaced. He unlocked the phone only to be greeted by another 12 unread messages. "It's 10:48." Cas said and began reading the messages.

11:42 Cas, where are you?

11:50 Cas?!

11:55 Castiel! Where are you? I'm getting worried.

12:00 Not funny Cas, call me.

12:01 If you don't call soon I'm going to assume you're getting it on with Dean.

12:05 You better be getting it on with Dean to put me through this much worry.

12:06 Cas, answer your phone!

12:07 I ate all your ice-cream.

12:09 YOUR APARTMENT IS BEING ROBBED!

12:10 I'M BEING MURDERED!

12:10 CAS, HELP!

12:12 Fine.

Now he was probably going to have to go home and deal with an angry Alex whilst fixing any mess she'd made. "Hey, Dean, you don't mind driving me back to that diner do you? My cars there." Dean looked up from mussing his hair.

"Yeah, no problem." He shrugged.


	3. Chapter 3

Cas tried to come back into the apartment quietly but as soon as his keys hit the bench Alex was there with a very displeased look on her face haloed by her bad bed hair.  
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" She yelled.  
"With Dean." Alex looked taken aback as if it were the first time she had heard the information. "We went to that mountain that overlooks the city and we ended up falling asleep." He fumbled feeling slightly awkward under her gaze, but Alex kept that look on her face. Cas' head tilted to the right.  
"What happened to your eye?!" She squealed finally.  
"I saved the innocence of a young woman." Cas said. Alex nodded in disbelief.  
"Well, I have to go back to my own place now," She spoke slowly, "I hope you're okay. I'll see you later." She reached up to kiss his cheek and drifted out the door. Cas swung off his coat, it landed gently on the arm of the sofa. He collapsed onto the soft pillows beside it and let out a long sigh sinking into the cushions. The lounge wasn't a particularly exciting room, it didn't contain many personal items and the walls could really do with a new coat of paint to cover the crusting beige. He had a small T.V. and a DVD player and a bookshelf in the corner. His desk sat in the corner of the wall with the door, by the window. All sorts of papers covered its faded wood surface. Everything was quiet. Soft whirring noises from the heater floated around the apartment and the occasional whoosh of a car passing by; it was as if the world had slowed. The place was very still. However, all things calm tended to get boring after awhile, so Cas swung himself off the sofa to wander aimlessly into the kitchen for breakfast. Apparently Alex had decided to leave the fridge alone because it was still in pretty good condition with most of its contents still inside. He scooped up an organic pot of yoghurt and grabbed the spoon he had left on the bench the night before. With yoghurt in hand he plodded out of the kitchen into his room and lay on the bed amidst a sea of dark blue bed sheets.  
From the bedroom there was a view across the street to a fairly large house with a tyre swing out front. As far as Cas knew two kids lived there with their mum, Cas had never seen a second parent. He had only seen them a few times though the mother seemed nice and had a warm smile and rich brown hair. Her two kids, one boy and one girl, sometimes sat outside to play; the boy usually held an electronic gadget of some sort and had a mullet. The girl play fought a lot; she would tackle in the leaves or climb the tree only to be scolded when her mother came out to bring them in. Now the tree was bare and any leaves that had been on the ground had been raked up and gathered in bin bags. He turned to stare at the boring white ceiling sinking deep into his own thoughts.

The phone rang. Cas' eyes flung open and he jolted upright spilling yoghurt all down his shirt. He grumbled to himself and picked up the receiver will dabbing his stain with a tissue. "Hello?" Cas mumbled.  
"Hi, is this Cas?" It was Dean's voice. It sounded like Dean's voice anyway. How did he get this number?  
"Yes...Dean?"  
"Oh good, it's the right number. You left your phone in my car, Cas."  
"Oh." Cas cheeks reddened. He felt like he'd forgotten something.  
"Yeah, took me a while to get your home number. Ended up getting it off your friend."  
"Yeah, okay." Cas mumbled looking around. What time was it? He began searching for his alarm clock. He couldn't see it anywhere. He dropped down on his hands and knees beside the bed. "...what time is it?" He said mostly to himself.  
"It's 9:30." Cas peered up over his bed at the window. Outside was dark, very dark. The whole room was dark and he wondered how he hadn't noticed before. "So...when do you have classes next? I could give it back then or I could drop it off now." Dean sounded completely at ease. Cas could hear the Impala's low hum in the background. He looked down at his shirt.  
"You can give it to me on Sunday, tomorrow, I have class then."  
"Okay, then, will do. Later." Then Dean hung up. Cas placed the phone back on the hook and fell back on the bed. It was 9:30. That meant he had slept for almost ten hours and he had a report due for History. Sighing, he hoisted himself back up and went into the lounge.

The next morning Cas found himself stuck to the keypad of his laptop. "How did I…?" He shifted his head sleepily, the movement woke the laptop and the sudden brightness hurt Cas' eyes. He glanced at the little digital clock in the top right hand corner. His eyes flung open and he almost fell out of his chair.  
"Why? Why?! Why!" He yelled rushing to the bathroom. He scrubbed his teeth as fast as possible scratching nearly every inch of his gum. He flew back through the hall grabbing his coat and laptop. He jumped out the door and had run half way down the stairs before he remembered that he had left his apartment unlocked. He kicked the wall in frustration. With the door locked and the car started (after only three attempts) he was speeding down the street.  
He pulled into the student parking lot and the glint of shiny black metal caught his eye. His eyes traced over the sleek bodice of the impala. "Dean?" Cas pulled into a space across from it and got out almost dropping his books. He walked over to the front building glancing back at the Impala every now and again.  
"Hey!" Cas spun round. Leather, jeans, and a shirt too many, Dean.  
"Uh, hello."

"I have your phone." Dean pulled a small piece of black plastic out of his leather jacket. Cas took the phone and hid it away in his own pocket. "I took the liberty of putting my number in there for you, and my back up number, and Sammy's in case you can't reach me. Oh, and Sammy's back up, in case you can't reach that one either."  
"Thank you, Dean."  
"No problem, Cas. Anyway, I'm off now."  
"You don't have class today?" Cas asked.  
"Class?" Cas nodded. "Why would I have class? I don't go here."  
"Oh." Cas tilted his head confused. Why would Alex lie about him going to school here?  
"Later, Cas."  
"Goodbye, Dean." Cas turned into the building. Feeling slightly strange; his back ached, and his end pounded with static. He shook it off as how he slept last night and headed off to History.

"Mornin', Cas." Cas looked up. Mark was hovering over him with a grin on his face. His grin fell. "What's wrong? You don't look too good." Cas groaned.  
"I don't know. I've just got a headache, it should be fine."  
"Maybe you should see a doctor, what with that amnesia thing and getting beaten around last night." Mark sat down beside him and took a bite out of one of Cas' sandwiches, made a face, and spat it out into a nearby bin. He turned back to Cas and smiled. "While you're at it you can look up tasty recipes for lunchtime snacks." He patted Cas on the head, and left. Cas put his head back on the table. His condition had worsened throughout the day. The static in his head seemed to get louder as though something was screaming at him through a faulty radio, and his back just hurt immensely. It felt like his shoulder blades were trying to break through his skin. He'd wanted to go home all day, but he didn't know what he would do once he got there. A hand landed on his back and squirmed in pain letting out a quiet squeak.  
"Whoa, Cas. Relax, it's me, Alex." She sat down beside him. She pressed her palm to Cas' forehead. "Jesus, you're boiling. I'm taking you home."  
"I'm Cas, not Jesus. I can drive myself."  
"No you can't. Come with me." Cas groaned.  
Alex coaxed Cas into her car. Cas wanted to vomit straight away. Her car smelt of everything flowery, every perfume he could imagine.  
"What about my car?" Cas croaked.  
"You can get it later." Alex waved him off getting in.  
"You know what, I think I'm feeling better, I'll just…" Cas reached for the door handle. The door clicked.  
"You're not going anywhere Cas." Alex asserted. Cas just fell against the window. "Jeez, why did you even come in today? You look awful."  
"I didn't feel like this this morning." Cas mumbled just wanting to go back to sleep. He'd done nothing but sleep all of yesterday, he should be fully rested and fine.  
"I'll have to cancel Dean tomorrow."  
"What?" Cas' head swivelled to face Alex, her eyes fixated on the road. "What?" She cast a glance down at Cas.  
"Well, I organised another date for you…"  
"Alex!" Cas yelled as best he could, but his voice was fading. "Why?! I don't need you to organise my love life. Dean is not part of my love life. I don't need you to set up dates for me with him. We're not dating!"  
"Yeah, I know, but I just…"  
"'Just' what? Want me to have your dates for you? If you're so interested in finding a date, find one for yourself!" Alex stared out of the windscreen at an empty road. Her eyes flicked to Cas momentarily, but flicked straight back when she saw Cas was still glaring at her. She blinked.  
"We're here." She pulled up by the curb and put the brake on. Cas gathered his things and stepped out of the car. "Get better soon, Cas." She almost spat. Cas sighed on sidewalk. He trudged up the steps and almost died on the stairs to his apartment. He tore off his shirt and stared at his back in the mirror. It looked perfectly normal, but it felt like a hot knife wound. He trailed into the bathroom and turned on the shower. He stripped off the rest of his clothes and got in. The heat from the shower made him feel a bit better, but as he towelled himself off the pain came back. He threw on some make-shift pyjamas and crawled into bed.  
Just as he was getting settled there was knock at the door.  
"Go away." Cas whimpered. He slid off the side of the bed slowly making his way to the front door. He swung the door open to reveal Dean standing there with a set of car keys.  
"Alex wanted me to drop your car off. She sounded a bit upset on the phone, looks like you pissed her off." He glanced past Cas into the apartment, then back to Cas. "She wasn't kidding though when she said you look like shit. Can I come in?"  
"I'd rather you didn't…" Dean didn't seem to hear. Within seconds the keys were on the side bench and Dean was already sat on the couch. Cas slammed the door, instantly regretting it. The noise resounded in his head, reverberating with pain.  
"Why do you keep feathers in your car?" Dean asked, patting pillows.  
"I don't know what you're talking about." Cas grumbled. His head really hurt and massaging his temples was doing nothing.  
"There are long black feathers scattered across the back seat of your car and there are a couple on the passenger seat too." Dean explained. "Here take some of this." He said handing Cas a pill bottle.  
"What is it?"  
"Just some painkillers, they should be able to take care of that for you." He pointed to Cas' forehead.  
"Thanks." Cas moved into the kitchen. Dean followed.  
"So, feathers?" Cas reached for a glass and filled it with water.  
"I don't know." Cas downed the medicine. "I'm going to bed. You can let yourself out."


End file.
